Constraints of designing for mobile devices

Strive to provide a balance between the best possible user experience,
a long battery life, and efficient connections to the wireless network. When
you design your
BlackBerry device application, consider the differences
between mobile devices and computers. Mobile devices have the following
characteristics:

Characteristic

Guideline

A smaller screen size that can display a limited number of
characters

Stay focused on the user's immediate task. Display only the
information that users need at any one moment. For example, a customer
relationship management system can provide a massive amount of information, but
users only require a small amount of that information at one time. Design the
UI so that users can perform tasks easily and access information quickly.

One screen appears at a time

Allow users to switch between applications using the
application switcher.

Shorter battery life

Design your application to handle data efficiently. The less often a device needs to turn on the radio, the longer the
battery life. A longer battery life creates a positive impact on the user experience.

Wireless network connections with a longer latency period than standard LANs

Try to simplify how an application creates network connections.
Longer latency periods for wireless network connections can influence how quickly users receive information that is transmitted over the wireless network.

Slower processor speeds

Use background threads in your application to manage
processor-intensive tasks. Slower processor speeds can affect how users perceive the responsiveness of an application.

Less available memory

Try to minimize the amount of memory that your application uses.
Memory use impacts the experience that users have with an application and their BlackBerry devices.

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